Around 1900 UTC i plopped down on what I thought was a vacant freq (I monitored it for several minutes) and called CQ, just to see if anybody heard me. What I got was totally unexpected. Very faintly, just above the static, I hear somebody say "Some guy called CQ on top of me! What a jerk!" If the guy on 7215 at 1900 is reading this, it was an honest mistake. I really that that was empty. Just goes to show you, there's really no such thing as a truly vacant freq, unless it's 0500 UTC. Lesson learned...

AND, I have asked if the frequency was open several times, then started to call CQ only to have a voice come back telling me that the frequency was in use. Then I heard a couple of other voices and gathered from their conversation, no call signs used at all, that they were guarding the frequency for a net that was to start in an hour. Stuff happens and then there are the classic LIDS!

Usually I can tell if there's somebody there. Often, I can hear the heterodyning from the guy's single sideband carrier long before I hear him. Sometimes I never hear a voice, just the whistle. I've tuned across 40 meters at 2300 and heard nothing but whistles every 5 or 10 khz. I try to latch onto a signal in many cases, and can't hear talking, just the whistle. I just assume somebody's there. There was no whistle in this case. Stuff happens.

ZOL: An apology is seldom appreciated. I just QSY. If I QRL and nobody answers and then after a CQ I get a blast from someone, I simply ignore it and either QSY or call CQ again, depending on how bad he burns me.

Don't even waste the time worrying about it. What probably happened is someone was holding a freq for upcoming net and pretending he was in a QSO. It's happened to me before and holding a frequency to me is a no-no, not tolerated!Randy

I live in Idaho. Some guys go like this: hear something they don't like - blast off a nasty comment/criticism - then think about it, if they ever do. I was on 40 meters CW and the band was short. I found an empty spot and listened: nothing heard. QRL? and listened again - zip. QRL? again - nada. QRL? number 3 - nope. So I called CQ. I received a very nasty email from a guy who lived just about half way between me and Newington, CT/W1AW. W1AW was sending code practice and he was copying it in his shack with a guy investigating our hobby. Apparently he heard me and W1AW. I knocked out W1AW and killed his code practice session according to him. The path from CT to me was closed and I never heard W1AW. This guy flamed me real hard and obviously never did think about it critically - if he was capable of it. Of course he heard W1AW and me - he was in the middle! Like I said: ready - shoot - then think about it. Dumb!

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